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Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Labyrinth

So when I promised to post the Steps for drawing a labyrinth "tomorrow," I guess I really meant "as soon as I can get to it!"

I did actually get the steps drawn on Monday, but it's taken 'til Thursday to get it scanned and write the post.

I LOVE labyrinths. They are incredible tools for meditation.

A labyrinth is not a maze. A maze has numerous paths, dead ends, blind alleys. A labyrinth has only a single path, twisting & spiralling into the center and back out. You can't make a wrong turn, you can't get lost. You only have to focus your feet on the path, and set your mind free to contemplate . . . whatever.

Labyrinths can be quite tiny representations: I have a pendant with a beautiful laser-cut image. They can be small enough to be traced with a pencil or a finger, or large enough for many people to walk at once, passing easily on the paths.

Again, I don't claim this to be a true Tangle, although it certainly can be drawn in a limited number of steps, with repeated lines. I also don't claim to have originated it, as I found the same instructions on a number of sites. But here is my version of the Steps for drawing a simple 7-circuit Labyrinth.
The first 3 steps: cross, corners and dots (did I say "dots?") are the "core," "key," or "seed pattern" of the labyrinth. The rest is just point-to-point curves!

I did this on graph paper to make it a little easier to see, but you can easily do without. My reds scanned a bit dark. And there is that place where I skipped a block, but I wasn't going to start over AGAIN!

So, think about it:

Drawn with a limited number of repeated lines
No dead ends, wrong turns (or "mistakes")
Facilitates a shift in consciousness, a meditative state

Does any of this sound familiar at all?

Enjoy exploring labyrinths on-line, try drawing your own. Best of all, find a labyrinth near You, and take a walk!